Exploded view

An exploded view is a representative picture or diagram that shows the components of an object slightly separated by distance, or suspended in surrounding space in the case of a three-dimensional exploded diagram, as if there had been a small controlled explosion emanating from the middle of the object which separated all of the parts of that object an equal distance away from their original locations.

Exploded diagrams are common in descriptive manuals showing parts placement, or parts contained in an assembly or sub-assembly. Usually such diagrams have the part identification number and a label indicating which part fills the particular position in the diagram. Many spreadsheet applications can automatically create exploded diagrams, such as exploded pie charts.